


Not Running From

by deliciousshame



Series: AoKuro Week 2017 [7]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, AoKuro Week, AoKuro Week 2017, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 15:48:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10879983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deliciousshame/pseuds/deliciousshame
Summary: Aomine-kun has had some ridiculous ideas, but this one might just take the cake.





	Not Running From

**Author's Note:**

> For day seven of AoKuro Week, prompt: it's the simple things.

“Look, can’t you just come with me?”

Tetsuya freezes. “What?”

Aomine-kun rubs the back of his head, obviously embarrassed, but he doesn’t take it back. “I know it’s a lot to ask for. I know, okay? But you could just apply to my college. It’s pretty good! And we could just move together instead of walking on eggshells like we are now.”

That’s just so egregious that Tetsuya doesn’t even know where to start from. His lacking academic performance? His monetary situation? His tedious grasp on the English language? “Aomine-kun, that’s crazy.”

“So what!? We’re young, now’s the time to be a bit crazy!” 

Oh dear, he can see Aomine-kun warming up to his own idea by the second. He’s going to have to argue with him. “I don’t think I have good enough grades to be accepted at your college, and that’s not even counting how much money moving to America and paying tuition would demand.” Aomine-kun was scouted, so he gets an invite and a sports scholarship, but Tetsuya doesn’t have any of that. All he has is the money his family painstakingly put aside to pay for his college education. He did work on his studies to make sure he would be able to get into a decent university, but he doesn’t think it would be enough for what Aomine-kun is asking. 

“You can at least try! Plus, my parents are already going to pay for my apartment. They think leaving me by myself in the dorms is a recipe for disaster. I think they’re afraid I’m going to do drugs and get some girl pregnant if I’m exposed to bad influences. You could just move in and save on rent.”

“I couldn’t possibly squat in your apartment without paying rent!” What is he even thinking? Tetsuya isn’t a freeloader. 

He’s just going to ignore the part about Aomine-kun’s fall into disgrace. Aomine-kun might sometimes be a failure of a human being, but he’s a lot more diligent than he looks like, and Tetsuya knows he would never cheat on him, even if he’s far away. 

“It’s not like it’d be more expensive with two people in it instead of one. We could always share the other bills. Plus, I’m sure my parents would feel safer with you to supervise me. Sometimes, I think they like you better than me. They definitely like Satsuki better than me, so it’s not like it would be weird.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“It’s not that hard either! You could at least try?” Aomine-kun moves closer and takes his hand, holding it gently close to his heart. “For me? I’d miss you so much.”

...Damn that manipulative jerk. Sometimes, Tetsuya has no idea what he sees in Aomine-kun. “…I’ll think about it.”

Aomine-kun kisses him gently. He’s gracious enough not to rub his victory to Tetsuya’s face, for which he’s grateful. 

Tetsuya sighs in his head. Time to change all his plans and see if he can make this foolish idea work.

Maybe he’ll get a part time job. 

__________________

“Take this.”

Aomine-kun takes the book. “What do I do with it?”

“You read it.”

Aomine-kun’s face crunches. It’s cute. “It’s in English.”

“That is the point.”

“Why would I read a book? In English, no less.”

Aomine-kun can be so dumb sometimes. “If I’m entertaining your terrible ideas, we’re going to do it right. We’re taking extracurricular English classes. I’ve already signed us both. Honestly, I can’t believe you haven’t taken some already. How are you going to function in America with a beginner’s grasp on the language? Were you thinking the language of basket would cross all frontiers? Oh dear, you were, were you. You were thinking you could bond with your team through basketball and body language.”

Tetsuya can tell Aomine-kun is embarrassed. He was right. Aomine-kun can be such an idealist when he wants to be. “Shut up! I’m not that stupid! I was going to take some during the summer after I had moved there but before the first semester.”

Tetsuya is not impressed. “Becoming fluent in a language is a hard task. You should have started already. You should also try to incorporate English in your daily life, hence the book. It’s on the history of basketball, you’ll like it. We’re also watching all future basketball games in English. Movies too. We’ll just add subtitles.”

“Tetsu! Come on!”

“Or I can let you go by yourself and make this not my problem. You’ll send me emails about your progress from there.” Since he signed up on this crazy agenda, he’ll do everything in his power to make it work. Aomine-kun is going to do his part. He doesn’t have a choice in the matter. “The classes are Tuesday and Thursday, seven o’clock. Don’t be late.” Or else. 

“Fine, fine, whatever. I’ll be there.”

“On time.”

“On time, sure.”

Tetsuya lets Momoi-san know. She’ll make sure he comes in time. 

__________________

He has the envelope in his hands. 

It’s the most stress-inducing envelope he ever had to open. His whole future is resting on what the letter included in this envelope says.

As long as it’s not open, there is always the chance that all his hard work will be in vain. That the crazy schedule he imposed on himself, reducing his life to basketball, English classes, part-time jobs and studying, will all be for naught. He hasn’t read a single book for pleasure in weeks, maybe months. It could all crumble in front of him because of a few words on a sheet of paper. 

One can’t keep postponing the inevitable. He opens the envelope, vaguely pleased that his mastery on English, while by no means perfect, should be high enough not to struggle with the sentences.

He reads it. He calls Aomine-kun.

“Tetsu? What it is?”

“I got in.” He got in. He got in. Oh god, he got in. He’s going to America with Aomine-kun. 

“I knew it! Congratulations! I’m so proud of you! Let’s go out and celebrate tonight! I’ll call everyone.”

“I can’t. I have to work tonight.”

“Oh, okay.” He knows Aomine-kun is disappointed. This has been hard on both of them. Tetsuya had no time left to see Aomine-kun. They had both tried to console themselves by telling each other they would spend so much more time together if they succeeded, but it didn’t make the absence left felt. 

“…I’ll see if I can get someone to cover me for tonight.” Since Tetsuya took all the shifts he could, quite a few of his coworkers owe him favors. They’re also pretty friendly, so they’ll probably understand him wanting to celebrate being accepted in his first choice of university. 

“That would be great. Call me back if it works out.” Cautiously optimistic. That’s what they tried to be lately. There’s no point in making grand plans if it can all crumble because of something they can’t control. 

Tetsuya starts calling. Luckily for him, the first person he reaches agrees to take on his shift and congratulates him on getting him, though not without complaining that if her own parents hear about it, they’ll start harping on her again about her lack of ambition. 

“Aomine-kun, I can make it.”

He doesn’t have to see him to visualise the smile on his face. 

__________________

“How about your passport?”

“Of course I have it. Who do you think I am?”

“You got your student visa, right?”

“Yeah yeah.”

“Some dollars on you in case something happens?”

“Sure.”

“Plane tickets?”

“Yeees.”

“Your passport?”

“Okay, that’s enough. Shut up. I can’t take this anymore. You made me checklists. You had Satsuki double-check the checklist. You personally checked all my luggage twice before. We have everything. If, by some sort of miracles, we forgot something we can’t buy over there, my parents will ship it over there. Or yours will. We’ll be fine.”

If he were a bit more reasonable right now, Tetsuya would probably agree he is being overbearing and annoying right now. Sadly for Aomine-kun and his attempt at being the voice of reason, he isn’t. He can’t help but worry they’ll forget some crucial document and be forbidden from entering the United States, or even forbidden from boarding the plane. Or they’ll leave for class on the first day, and they won’t have… their laptop or something, and they won’t be able to function as decent students. “But-“

Aomine-kun shuts him up with a kiss. It’s probably their last one in Japan. 

It will be followed by plenty of others once they’re in their new home. Their home. That they’ll share. Tetsuya tries to fix that thought in his mind. “Okay. I’ll try to stop talking.”

It’s not hard. Nervosity rises as they advance in the airport, leave their baggage behind and cross customs and wait to board the plane. Aomine-kun is always there by his side, trying to keep him grounded, but there isn’t much he can do in such a public place. 

They sit side by side in the plane. Public eyes be damned, Tetsuya grabs Aomine-kun’s hand and doesn’t let go until the plane is way up in the air and finally stable. Japan is beautiful from the plane’s window, shrinking as they get higher and farther away. When will they be able to get back? Tetsuya doesn’t know. 

Like he detected what he was thinking, Aomine-kun squeezes his hands and starts talking about all the awesome things they’ll be able to do and try once they’ve moved in their place. Tetsuya doesn’t quite share his enthusiasm, but he still appreciates the effort. Plus, seeing Aomine-kun so obviously enjoying himself helps more than what he says does. 

__________________

Aomine-kun’s parents picked the apartment they now share. Tetsuya didn’t object because it was only fair if they were to pay for it. He thinks they might have arranged something with Kagami-kun’s parents, but he’s not certain. Anyway. It’s quite decent. There’s a small kitchen, a living room, a bathroom and two apartments. None of the rooms are huge, but by Tokyo standards they might as well be gigantic. Tetsuya feels a bit guilty about having them pay for a place with two bedrooms when the second one will only be used as a study, but Aomine-kun and he agreed that his parents might refuse to allow them to move together if they knew, and who knows how Tetsuya’s own parents might have reacted. 

Aomine-kun’s parents got the place furnished. It had just seemed easier. They finish moving in in a few days. They still have to go buy a few things, like some dishes. Aomine-kun turns out to enjoy this step of the process too, walking around aisles and comparing dish patterns or looking at drapes of all things, a slightly bemused but amused Tetsuya following a few steps behind. 

They end up with a pretty cozy place. Tetsuya can see himself spending the coming years there, with Aomine-kun. 

__________________

Some clichés are clichés for a reason. Textbooks are expensive. So are food, tuition, utilities and clothes. Tetsuya needs to do his share. He can’t just do chores and say it’s fair. So he gets a job in a coffee shop, like half the population of his college, apparently. It will have the added benefice of letting him get used to daily English faster. Their lessons (and his insistence) have borne fruits. They can read pretty well and understand spoken English if it’s not too fast decently, but their pronunciation still leaves a lot to be desired. 

Aomine-kun protests. Summer will be over soon, and he wants to visit places and travel and go camping and play basket on all the courts. He complains that Tetsu is the better speaker of them both and that he can’t manage by himself. Tetsuya tells him to take it as a chance to better himself. Aomine-kun says it won’t be as fun by himself. Tetsuya tells him to go visit Kagami-kun. Aomine-kun pouts. 

The truth is, Tetsuya would love to enjoy the beautiful weather and relax before college starts, but he knows he doesn’t have that luxury. He’ll need all the money he can get to lead a decent life here. He doesn’t want to burden Aomine-kun with exactly how expensive this all is to him, so he just lets him think working is something he wants to do. 

Aomine-kun ends up stalking his coffee shop nine out of ten times he has a shift. His coworkers know he is his boyfriend before he can remember all their names. Happily, none of them cares. Deborah (Names. Names in America are difficult for Tetsuya. Calling people you’re friends with, especially women, by their family name is apparently strange? Deborah told him to call her Debbie. Tetsuya gave her a horrified look. They settled on Deborah.) even invited him to a group date with her other LGBTQ+ (Tetsuya had to look that up.) friends. 

All in all, living here with Aomine-kun is going as well as it could be expected. 

__________________

Their first semester starts slower than he would have expected. Tetsuya tries a variety of classes and likes most of them. He makes friends with a few people from his ESL classes, and instantly connects with a girl named Ulrike from their shared reaction to their professor’s explanation of the psychodynamic approach during Introductory Psychology. He also took one class on Japanese history and culture. He figures that will be fun.

Aomine-kun picked whatever wasn’t too early in the morning or during his scheduled practice. Tetsuya is looking forward to seeing how he’ll manage Introduction to American Indian Studies. He already had to explain he wasn’t half-American Indian, hence the darker skin, three times. 

He does well at practice. His talent is still obvious, even while training alongside students that could be described as equally talented if one felt generous. Aomine-kun is finding the challenge he so craves here. He’s always in good spirits, making it easy for him to integrate the team. Before long, when he’s not with Tetsuya he has at least one member of the team trailing around him. 

The integration is smoother than Tetsuya thought it would be. 

__________________

“No.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun! You should try out too!”

“Aomine-kun, no. I do not have time for this.”

“The guys are cool. You’ll like it.”

“I refuse.”

“Come on, you’ve got to fully experience college life.”

“Aomine-kun, I am not joining the fraternity and that’s final. Some of us have classes to succeed at and jobs to work.” He is not going around participating in ridiculous pranks and excessive drinking. If Aomine-kun wants to, that’s his choice, but he won’t. 

Ulrike sends him an approving look and conveys the message that Aomine-kun can stop interrupting their studies anytime he feels like it. Aomine-kun bristles. She is not impressed. It’s fun looking at them go at each other. Ulrike must enjoy it too, because she never refuses when he invites her over for dinner. Aomine-kun must not mind that much, because he never says anything. It’s nice.

__________________

Midterm arrives before he can notice, and after that it’s like it never stops. In-between exams, take-homes, dissertations, basketball matches and shifts at the coffee shop, the school years pass in a daze until he wakes up one morning and discovers he’s been living in another country for years, the only unchanging constants being their apartment and Aomine-kun by his side. Oh, Aomine-kun changed. He grew older and friendly and well-known on the college basketball circle, but he’s still the same person he was when they moved here, the same anxious teenager that was trying to hide his shaking hands when he asked him out, the depressed boy that couldn’t see any excitement in his future, the friend with the easy laugh. He’s still all those people, and he’s still by his side, here, now. Tetsuya doesn’t want any of that to change.

So when Aomine-kun tells him he got offers and he’s going to be drafted and will Tetsuya please stay with him here forever, Tetsuya says yes. There was no other answer possible.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it for this year's AoKuro Week. That challenge is so exhausting. So little time! This fic was finished at the very last minute too, sorry about that. 
> 
> In theory, there's another day where you post a wip, but I'll only post that on tumblr.


End file.
